Far too many cat parents accept occasional or even chronic vomiting and diarrhea as a fact of life with cats. “He just eats too fast.” “She has a sensitive stomach.” “It’s just a hairball.” The truth is that chronic vomiting and/or diarrhea can be an indicator of serious diseases of the small intestine, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and intestinal lymphoma.

What is IBD?

IBD is not a single disease, but rather a group of chronic gastrointestinal disorders caused by inflammation. Inflammatory cells invade the walls of the GI tract, leading to thickening of the walls and disrupting proper GI function. The location of the inflammation can help determine the specific type of IBD. IBD is more common in middle-aged and older cats, but can affect cats at any age.

What causes IBD?

Chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract can be the result of a specific disease, such as a parasitic or bacterial infection. It can also be caused by a food intolerance or food allergy. However, in many cases, it’s impossible to determine the cause of IBD. According to the Cornell Health Center, current theories suggest that these “idiopathic” cases of IBD may be due to a breakdown in the relationship between the normal bacteria that reside in the gastrointestinal tract and the immune system of the GI wall.

Symptoms of IBD

Symptoms most typically include chronic vomiting and diarrhea, but sometimes, constipation can also be a problem. Some cats present with weight loss as the only clinical sign.

Diagnosis of IBD

To rule out other causes of gastrointestinal problems, your veterinarian will perform diagnostic tests that may include complete blood cell counts, blood chemistry, thyroid function tests, urinalysis, fecal analysis, abdominal x-rays, and ultrasound. The only definitive way to diagnose IBD is through biopsies of small samples of the intestinal lining. Unfortunately, many veterinarians will use endoscopy to obtain these biopsies, which, while less invasive than surgical biopsy, will not always reach the abnormal sections of the intestine.

Medical Treatment

IBD is usually treated with a combination of medical and dietary therapy. Corticosteroids are used for their anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant properties, and they can also serve as an appetite stimulant. However, steroid therapy carries serious longterm side-effects.

The Diet Connection

Since food allergies may play a role in causing IBD, a food elimination trial may be recommended. There are currently two approaches for these trials: a hypoallergenic diet, or a novel protein diet. Hypoallergenic “prescription” diets are made from hydrolyzed proteins, using a conventional protein source like chicken, but the protein is broken down into molecules too small to stimulate the immune system. Novel protein diets must contain a protein that the cat has not previously been exposed to. Unfortunately, with pet food manufacturers coming up with ever more exotic diets, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a truly novel protein.

Holistically oriented veterinarians have long seen a connection between diet and IBD. These vets believe that commercial pet foods, especially dry foods, are a contributing factor to the large numbers of cats with chronic IBD. They also discovered that many cats improve by simply changing their diets to a balanced grain-free raw meat diet. While results may be achieved with a grain-free canned diet, a raw diet seems to lead to quicker and better results.

Prognosis

The good news is that intestinal disease is very treatable. There is mounting evidence that treating the disease in its early stages will likely prevent a progression to intestinal lymphoma. For most cats, this disease will be chronic, and ongoing monitoring by both cat parents and their veterinarian is critical to successful management.

My personal experience with IBD

My first cat, Feebee, was diagnosed with IBD at around age 12. He was treated with corticosteroids and a high-fiber diet (this was long before I became educated about feline nutrition, and just the thought of it makes me cringe now!) His IBD eventually progressed to intestinal lymphoma, and I elected to do chemotherapy. He did extremely well for another seven months, then he rapidly declined and died at age 15 1/2. I can’t help but wonder, had I known then what I know now about nutrition, whether he would never have developed IBD in the first place.

59 Comments on Feline Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Shawn

January 1, 2019 at 3:24 pm (1 year ago)

Many cats experience injury to their immune systems following vaccination. This can cause auto-immune type diseases which is linked to IBD, sadly. My boy began serious symptoms of IBD within a few weeks of a new vaccination at age 10. I no longer vaccinate him nor myself after doing mounds of research and seeing the connection between this and many other diseases in myself and my other animals.

As far as diet, what will work for one cat may not work for another. However, my female responded within 24 hours with a normal stool after years of loose stools. She had been treated with Flagyl for her giardia as a kitten and I believe it was aggravated by vaccines at a vulnerable young age. It affected her her entire life, but she eventually needed to be put down after discovering hoards of gall bladder stones throughout her digestive system and having horrible painful digestion for months. I wonder if the prednisone was the cause or her IBD/vaccinosis contributed.

Stacy

March 28, 2018 at 3:54 pm (2 years ago)

I lost my kitty two days ago after a long battle with IBD that progressed to cancer. I’m feeling so much guilt and have many questions, though I realize it’s too late to change anything. I’m curious to know if IBD ALWAYS morphs into cancer? Is there a cure for IBD or Judy management techniques? How long does the average cat live once diagnosed with IBD? I should’ve asked my vet these questions but my head was elsewhere. Thanks for the support and answers.

Angie

March 28, 2018 at 5:43 pm (2 years ago)

Stacy, IBD doesn’t always turn into cancer, but it can be deadly enough on its own. My poor Wylie got sick suddenly. I took him to the vet immediately and then to a specialist. They ran every test and still this disease took his life. It was a horrible way to die. He went from 12 lbs to just a little over 4 lbs. We did absolutely all we could over the course of about a year and a half. Countless medicines, different foods and special diets. Sometimes you can do everything right and still can’t save them. I’m so sorry for your loss. It’s not been a year yet that we lost our fur baby. Hope your heart heals. ❤️

Susan Spicer

March 26, 2018 at 4:19 pm (2 years ago)

This is a very informative overview of this disease. There is an intelligent closed group of over 5,000 members on Facebook that deals with IBD and transitioning to raw feeding. If any of your followers have a kitty that is dealing with this disease, it would serve them well to get the most up-to-date information: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RawFedIBD/

Lu

January 6, 2018 at 8:52 am (2 years ago)

I would like to post a warning about Xanthum Gum in catfood.

I recently lost my beloved cat, Cali to intestinal cancer. She had a spinal injury, and suffered from incontinence and chronic constipation. The vet blamed the cancer on IBS. She was 14 years old. I subsequently adopted a kitten from the local rescue who had IBSD, I named Diana. Having learned a lot from taking care of Cali, so when the usual medications did not work, I got her a Nutriscan for food sensitivity and changed up her diet. After that, it became apparent that the one thing that was a major cause of her problem (farting and liquid stools), was Xanthum Gum (XG). On foods she tested sensitive to that contained XG she would actually vomit. On food she should have been fine on, that contained XG, the IBSD persisted. She is off it now and healing. I hope. It is hard to find a food without gums that she has no sensitivity too. I think the XG really messed her up.

I did feed some of these foods to my poor Cali, even after she got sick, thinking I was doing the right thing as they were high end canned foods. Her constipation would occur on soft stool. I wonder now what I did to my poor girl.

There are a lot of vegetable gum thickeners being added to catfood and they are all probably laxative, gas producing inflammatories to our cats. XG is amongst the worst as a bacterially manufactured product, link to intestinal illness and at least one death in human infants. I guess the rich and powerful are making too much money off this product to have warnings out on it.

Omnivores may be able to handle these better, but it is so wrong to be putting and significant amounts of these things in cat foods. Beware!!!!!

Denise

Two of my cats have IBD. I feed them Royal Canin Duck and Pea dry food using an automatic feeder twice a day. I also use the Royal Canin Duck and Pea canned food, but with a twist.

I want to keep my boys hydrated and still have a bit of a treat because they love canned food. I blenderize contents of two cans of the cat food with about 3 cups of unflavored pedialyte water. I also mix in some probiotic powder in what I feed them in the a.m. I give them about half a cup in the morning and at night. Since there are no safe cat treats I am making my own. I loved the broth recipe in this blog, it will be very helpful. Vitamin B shots help them too, all coordinated with my vet. I am now having to try the steroids for one of them, but I am very conscious to keep them well fed and hydrated.

Lori

Judith

August 24, 2017 at 3:00 pm (3 years ago)

Thank you for this post. My 8 year old puddy has been diagnosed with IBD and for the past year he has been eating Hills prescription D/D – Venison and Pea wet food and has been done really well on it. However Hills have now discontinued this food due to problems with their Venison supplier and I’m now stuck as to what to feed Gizmo. I’m not sure about feeding him a raw diet, but perhaps it’s worth a try

Linda

Our cat a stray from outdoors has IBS. After taking him to several vets we finally took him to a specialist out of town. We tried everything for over a year. Including Science diet prescription.

Specialist put him on Royal Canin Hydrolyzed protein (also a prescription). In three days this cat who had had liquid stools for over a year stopped having any loose stools and for 6 months has only had formed stools. It is pricey, but worth it. Cat eats less cause more of the food is absorbed. I am a RN, so I researched everything. A lot! Over and over again! Hope this helps someone with a sick cat out there!!!
Linda

Hi Judith,
When we adopted our cat, Turnip, he had diarrhea/soft stools. This continued for over a year. We followed the vet’s advice and fed him prescription dry food, but this didn’t help for the long term. Within a couple of days of feeding him a raw diet he had normal, formed poops and has for the past 2 years. Our other cat, Mary Read, has IBS and she is also fed raw and she loves it.

Lynn

December 8, 2017 at 6:28 am (2 years ago)

How does one figure out what a raw diet is for their kitties and/or if it is good for them, or how to make or prepare it. I am clueless with this and would like to learn more. Thank you for any help you can offer. My one cat has liver disease and has had since a kitten…she has portosystemic shunt (two from same litters had since 7 wks old, now almost 9 years old), while the other sister (knock on wood is healthy…but…). throws up sometimes because she either eats too fast or perhaps has little tummy troubles so I asked the vet (I work for a vet (domestic cats/dogs,) as well as a wildlife vet also), if I could feed her prescription Purina E/N for digestion issues, he said I could, so so far no problems, as the other sister with liver issues is on and has been for 8 years NF Purina dry/wet for Liver/Kidney issues.

Patty

December 8, 2017 at 9:10 am (2 years ago)

Hi Lynn,

This website has tons of information about raw diets for cats: http://feline-nutrition.org. This site is also helpful: http://www.foodfurlife.com. I belong to their Facebook group Raw Feeding for IBD Cats.
I started transitioning my cats to Nature’s Variety frozen raw, which most big pet stores carry. Currently one eats Darwin’s and the other is eating Stella & Chewy’s frozen raw bites (he decided one day that he no longer wanted Darwin’s).

Angie

July 30, 2017 at 2:21 pm (3 years ago)

I’m glad to find this article. I am at wit’s end with my baby Wylie. He’s 11 yrs old and a year ago he started having severe diarrhea. Then he began losing weight. I took him to our Vet where they have done every test imaginable, even exploratory surgery. Then we were sent to a specialist. This specialist said he had an overgrowth of bacteria in his small intestines which leads them to believe he has IBD. We cannot afford to do an endoscopy because we’ve spent everything we have just to get this far. At this point he is skin and bones. He eats and drinks and sometimes acts like he’s starving when he eats. NO medication, steroid, or antibiotic has helped long term. We even did the hydrolyzed protein, which took almost a month before we seen ANY change in his diarrhea, but eventually went back to diarrhea. The only thing I haven’t tried is a raw diet with chicken. At this point I’m just trying to keep him alive, but I’m afraid we’re losing this battle. He doesn’t act very sick, just a little weak and a little melancholy, which is understandable. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Cheryl

July 30, 2017 at 3:40 pm (3 years ago)

Dear Angie.

I’m no vet but my boy Rufus was definitely diagnosed with IBD but he didn’t want to eat because he would vomit. He lost weight because he wasn’t eating. His diagnosis was confirmed through a biopsy.
My Nero started eating and drinking a lot but continued to lose weight. He was diagnosed with hyperthyroid and has been doing very well with a small pill every day. He will be 15 next week. A friend of mine had a lovely cat who was diagnosed with diabetes and his symptoms were eating and drinking a lot and still seem to be starving.
Have you thought of getting a second opinion? I truly hope you find some help and solution soon.

Angie

July 30, 2017 at 4:00 pm (3 years ago)

Cheryl,

I’m sorry to hear about your kitties. It’s very heartbreaking when our fur babies get sick and in my case can’t figure out how to help him. I have gotten a second opinion by a specialist. They seemed to think they knew his diagnosis but none of their treatments have helped him. There’s just nothing hardly left of him, he’s lost over half his body weight. Thank you for your kind words. I need to take him for another evaluation, but can’t afford the expensive tests at this point because his illness has drained us.

Angie, I’m no vet either but my senior cat of over 13 years had similar situation to what you describe of yours. Assume it IS IBS! Now do whatever you can to get him to eat clean food. It doesn’t have to be raw but find something he will eat. Mine liked cooked turkey. Still does. I used that to get her over her crisis. By the way if the diarrhea is bloody you need steroids to get over the critical inflammation. (Like prednisone.) While on the steroids, feed him clean foods like the human grade turkey I mentioned. Find something that he will eat and encourage him to eat as often as possible. After you get him eating again then you can focus on introducing other foods that are clean. From my experience, once the cat stops eating it is difficult to get them to start eating again on a regular basis. To encourage the eating keep putting the bowl in front of him.
My definition of clean food is food that doesn’t contain corn, wheat of any sort, grains, carrageenan, or Xantham gum. Fish also is cleaner than the other flavors because fish is not fed corn.
So my Stardust was slightly under 6 lbs when this last crisis happened and she is now at 11 lbs! You can do this, just keep trying!! Don’t give up on Wylie!! He has no one else to fight for him!

Angie

July 30, 2017 at 10:51 pm (3 years ago)

Mountainkiddo, thank you so much for your comment and suggestions. I really felt that I should try the raw diet. Even though we did the hydrolyzed protein without much success, I know the raw food will be better and less expensive as well. This past year he hasn’t had any bloody stool, which is good. And his appetite has remained pretty good. Don’t have much trouble getting him to eat, he just keeps losing weight. I am going to give this a shot because as skinny as he is I know I have to do all I can. Thanks again!

mountainkiddo

July 30, 2017 at 11:01 pm (3 years ago)

You’re welcome. Foods I had success with are Nulo wet, Beyond pate’s but the egg may be a trigger, Muse grain free, Earthborn holistic, and TikiCat (watch for carrageenan in some of the flavors). The carrageenan is a huge trigger for my IBS cat. I hope this helps. I couldn’t save the squirrel today unfortunately, so hopefully I can help save the cat! 😉

Lisa

July 14, 2018 at 4:49 pm (2 years ago)

Angie, your story is to the T the exact same as mine that im going through right now! I have spent over 1700 on my sweet kitty with all the tests and trials etc! I am at my wits end too! I can not afford anymore and have really lost all hope!

Patty

July 14, 2018 at 9:04 pm (2 years ago)

Hi Lisa,
I am in a FB group called Raw Feeding for IBD cats. The people in the group are very knowledgeable about many cat illnesses, especially IBD, but it’s only for people who feed raw or are looking to transition their cat to raw. So, not sure if you feed kibble, but they won’t allow kibble talk. The admins of the group started a company called Food Fur Life: http://www.foodfurlife.com. There is a lot of helpful information. Hope this helps.

Angie

July 15, 2018 at 1:35 am (2 years ago)

I’m so sorry. We lost our furbaby a year ago this month. Hardest thing ever. Thought I couldn’t bear it, but slowly the heart heals. I still miss him terribly but I’m just glad his suffering is over. I sure hope things turn around for your furbaby. Hugs.

Cheryl

July 31, 2017 at 10:58 am (3 years ago)

Angie,

I didn’t mention that Rufus was diagnosed with IBD when he was about 5 years old. I had to give him several pills for a few months and eventually just prednisone for a while. Unfortunately every time we were away for more than a week he would get sick and I had to start the whole thing over again. The vet advised to give him one prednisone for the rest of his life, which is what I did. I had the joy of having Rufus in my life for just over 14 years (of course I wanted more years).
I understand the stress of worry over your furry baby and the stress of expenses. Fortunately, I took out pet insurance for Rufus when he was a kitten and they paid half the expenses. Policies do max for inividual illnesses though.
I hope you find a successful solution to everything soon and that your furry baby continues to bring joy to your life for many more years.

Patty

July 31, 2017 at 7:51 am (3 years ago)

Hi Angie,

My cat, Turnip, had soft stool/diarrhea when we adopted him at 6 months of age and no matter what we fed him (hydrolyzed protein included) his stools were still soft. After a year and a half of trying different things we tried a raw diet and within a day or two his stools were normal and have been for the past 2 years. Darwin’s raw food sometimes has a special for new customers so you can try it out. Their website is http://www.darwinspet.com. You could also try freeze dried raw food such as Nature’s Variety and Stella & Chewy’s.

Angie

August 1, 2017 at 8:01 pm (3 years ago)

Thank you to everyone who gave me info to try and help my baby Wylie. Unfortunately he passed away yesterday. This disease had caused his kidneys to fail. He had lost so much weight and just couldn’t fight anymore. I’m heartbroken but at least he isn’t suffering now.

cheryl

August 1, 2017 at 11:40 pm (3 years ago)

I’m so sorry. I know how painful it is to say goodbye. There are no words of condolence but it will get better after a lot of time. Rufus left me over a year ago but I still miss him and at times cry over him. I hope your pain eases quickly. Just remember you loved him and gave him a good loving home and he gave you so much joy and love

Lynn

December 8, 2017 at 6:30 am (2 years ago)

ALL THIS TALK ABOUT looose stool or diarhea, WHY ARE THEY NOT ON FLAGYL for this?? that resolves it.

Kathy S

December 20, 2017 at 12:30 pm (2 years ago)

Flagyl (Metronidazole) is NOT a panacea. Diarrhea can a difficult to treat because there are so many other issues that could be causing or contributing to the problem. Veterinarians also disagree with each other on how to proceed with this type of problem. Many want to jump in with costly treatments and procedures. The best course of action is to know your cat and his/her history. Treat for the basics–do a fecal exam for parasites–worms and protozoal parasites such as Tritrichomonas foetus, Giardia, and coccidia. Not all vets check beyond worms. Also tapeworm does not normally show up on a fecal exam. Feed smaller meals more frequently. This can take the stress off the intestinal system. Have a full blood panel done and make sure that the thyroid is checked!! The important thing here is that you have a determined vet who will work with you and you, as the guardian, MUST research, research, and research. Also, keep very good records of what has been done (tests and medication). Seek a second opinion. Your vet could be missing something he/she has no experience with. Support research! The comments on these websites are a help to many people who are pulling their hair out because their vet is not helping. My vet told me that the best diet for a cat is a mouse–raw food! We LOVE our kitties!!

Hilda Holt

June 10, 2017 at 11:19 pm (3 years ago)

I am enjoying reading about this IBD because I think my cat may have it. I have had her to the vets several times but I never got any information about what the vet thought her problem was. I feel helpless in knwing wha to try next. Thanks for the info.

Cheryl

So I solved my IDB problem by very carefully studying the ingredients on the food that I purchased. The ingredients I found to avoid include
grains,
corn,
wheat,
soy,
Xantham Gum and
carrageenan.
The grains, corn, wheat, and soy all contain GMOs when used in animal food. I argue that Xantham Gum also is a grain (and also GMOed) since it is derived from corn, yet many times products marketed as grain free contain it. I had to go one step further though and eliminate chicken from my IBD girl’s diet as well unless I knew that it was free range, natural fed chicken. (Chickens by the way do not eat grains as part of their natural diet so beware when poultry manufacturers advertise their chickens are fed a 100% vegetarian all grain diet. That is not the natural diet of chickens. Bugs are the natural diet of chickens just like bugs and some seeds are the natural diet of birds.)

I cooked her raw for a while as well (since she wouldn’t eat it raw) but still had trouble even though Darwins assured me that the chicken in their raw was free range and natural fed.

I’ve found that even after eliminating the corn wheat soy, that the carrageenan is the worst on her. So even if I feed her something that is labeled grain free and it contains carrageenan, it really causes a major crisis.

So avoid carrageenan at all cost.

And yes it is a lifetime of monitoring her food but the rest of the gang benefits as well as I would never have learned all this had it not been for her being sick. And BTW – avoiding those same ingredients is a healthy step for humans as well. If I’m not willing to feed it to my cat, I’m not willing to eat it myself! 😉

Your story illustrates how frustrating it can be to treat IBD, and that it sometimes takes detective work to find a solution. What works for one cat may not work for another.

Carrageenan is a controversial ingredient in cat food (and human food, for that matter), and I recommend steering clear of it even for healthy cats. There are some studies that have shown that carrageenan leads to higher rates of colon cancer in lab animals. Here’s more information: http://consciouscat.net/2012/06/08/carrageenan-should-it-be-in-your-cats-food/ Some pet food manufacturers are starting to replace carrageenan with other binders.

Cheryl

May 15, 2017 at 11:41 am (3 years ago)

My beautiful boy was diagnosed at about 6 yrs of age. I now feel the vet did far too many tests on him and finally did the biopsy which confirmed he had IBD. He was put on a high dose of prednisone. After several years I changed vets and the new vet tried to ween him off prednisone until we were down to 1/4 tablet. That worked for a while and then the vomiting started again. My dear boy’s personality changed somewhat and finally he lost his sight. After visiting a specialist it was determined that he had a brain tumour and left me a few months later. I can’t help but feel the prednisone was a determining factor.

Cheryl

Debbie

May 15, 2017 at 8:45 am (3 years ago)

My cat has had IBD for years n was on prednisone for yrs until we had to ween her off due to it can cause bone loss. I mainly feed her smaller portion at a time n canned food but no fish products. This seems to have helped her very well. Every now n then she gets a little dry food. She is now about 15 yrs old n doing good. Some canned products foods don’t agree so I have finally found two products that works for her.

Sue Brandes

My cat, Mary Read, is fed a raw food diet and still vomits on average about twice a month. After trying several different things, an endoscopy was done and some inflammation was found. The recommendation was steroids, which we decided not to do. I’ve been trying to manage it with probiotics, bone broth, and Omega 3. It’s very frustrating because trying something new seems to help in the beginning, but then she’s back to vomiting every two weeks.

Mary

June 22, 2017 at 8:52 pm (3 years ago)

I wonder if essential oils would help? There is ano essential oil vet on facebook Dr. Janet Roark is very nice. My 12 year old guy is believed to have ibs by the vet and I want to treat naturally like you..I hope you can get good lasting results. I was thinking one of my essential oils may help kill parasites which can be a cause of ibs also. It also helps digestion. I started using it but have to now add in bone broth and find a good food. How do you make your bone broth for your cat and get him/her to eat it?

Mary

June 24, 2017 at 12:58 am (3 years ago)

This is true. Do you know of any other natural ways to treat parasites by chance? I read diamotacous earth but am leary of it causing constipation for my cat that gets occ. Constipation. I do hope to get in with a vet that does some holistic medical care.

I don’t know of any effective ways to treat internal parasites with natural remedies.

Patty

June 23, 2017 at 7:10 am (3 years ago)

Hi Mary,

I received this bone broth recipe from the very helpful folks at raw essentials. They’re in New Zealand. I wish they imported their raw pet food to the US.

Fill a slow cooker with chicken frames and wings.
Cover with water.
Add 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar.
Cook in high for 2hrs.
Then turn to simmer on low for a further 22hrs.
Strain the liquid into containers.
Keep 3 days worth in the fridge and freeze the rest.
Discard the solid matter.

The broth is really great for upset tummies, poaching a bit of muscle meat in it when there has been an upset can be very soothing.

Mary

Holly

May 15, 2017 at 5:35 am (3 years ago)

If it makes you feel any better we did know about good nutrition with our Cat Saxton we started him out on raw diet when we got him at 6 weeks of age.
Still diagnosed with IBD.
The traditional vet blamed the raw diet. Saxton is now 6 years old and we see both holistic and traditional vet
We manage with Acupuncture, supplements and yes a RAW diet;) Maybe its in the genetics too?

Mary

Jean McCormic

May 15, 2017 at 1:17 am (3 years ago)

My 15 yr. old Tabby, Karma, has recently begun pooping in different places in the house. She currently shares a litter box with my other cat. My son cleans the box daily. I suggested getting another litter box. What do you think of this new, odd behavior?

While a second litter box may help (some cats don’t like separate boxes for peeing and pooping), anytime a cat eliminates outside the box, the first thing to do is to rule out any medical issues. I’d take your cat to your vet as soon as possible.